Alexander Albon and Daniil Kvyat will use Honda’s updated power unit at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, with the pair set for a grid penalty.
Honda has made performance and reliability gains this season, having linked up with Red Bull Racing, adding to existing partner Toro Rosso.
Honda has opted to fit a new power unit to Albon’s Red Bull and Kvyat’s Toro Rosso for the upcoming event at Spa-Francorchamps.
As per the regulations Albon takes on Pierre Gasly’s component usage and vice versa, in the wake of their seat swap.
It means Albon is set to start his first race for Red Bull from towards the back of the grid.
“With the summer break over, we now head into the second half of the season, starting with a pair of back-to-back races, the final two rounds in Europe, first in Belgium and then Italy,” said Honda chief Toyoharu Tanabe.
“Our performance gradually improved over the races immediately prior to the break and both our teams were competitive.
“We aim to carry that momentum forward into the next part of the season achieving further improvements.
“Spa is one of the classic tracks, the longest on the calendar at just over 7 kilometers, set in a beautiful forest location.
“One of its most interesting aspects from a PU point of view is the very long run from the Source hairpin to Les Combes going through Eau Rouge in between.
“We are introducing the Spec 4 version of our PU at this event.
“As usual, we have focused on improving both reliability and performance, in the hope of achieving even better results with both teams in this part of the season.
“Our plan is that only Albon and Kvyat will run it at Spa, for strategic reasons, looking at the rest of the season as a whole.
“The driver swap between Albon and Gasly has no effect on how we operate at the race, and we continue to do our best to support all four of our drivers.”
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